Days Until Heartbreak/Opportunities
so many cats in this community one of them killed her this is my opportunity part ten of Days Until Heartbreak "What?" My voice is barely audible as I stare in shock at Aura. "She's dead?" Sweetie matches her name perfectly. She was so caring and flawless, and as one of the younger cats, she was the best examples of a she-cat not influenced by a tom. She deserved to live a long life. Why didn't I protect her? Aura nods, her eyes anguished. "She was also bleeding heavily from the battle and when we got back, she died from her wounds." I grit my teeth in anger. Aura continues. "We gave her a proper burial already, I'll show you to her-" "No!" I snap, turning swiftly, "I don't want to see it." Aura doesn't say anything and I sigh. "Sorry, I just don't want to feel guilt for Sweetie's demise. Seeing her grave will only make the feeling worse." Aura nods in understanding, her eyes giving me a bit of reassurement. "I know what you means," she mews, "Knowing that you could have been protecting her in the battle...it makes you feel guilty that she died." She shakes her head, "I won't let anyone die like that ever again. We must be as careful as we can." I nod in agreement, "We must train our cats to the highest caliber. We cannot afford to make them weak. The Clan will strike again, I can guarantee that. We must be prepared." I swish my tail, "We'll start training today. You will organize these training groups and I will supervise them." My eyes gleam, "Next time the Clan strikes, we'll be ready. They won't know what hit them." Aura frowns. "Not to be discouraging but are you in the right condition to be supervising training ''practices? Your wound hasn't fully healed yet." This reminds me of Ice and Shineblossom. I shake my head. "I'll be fine, don't worry. I won't participate in the training practices, I'll just watch and make sure they're doing it right." Aura still looks worried but she relents a bit. "Alright, just don't exert yourself, okay? Be careful." We part ways as Aura rounds up a few cats to start a practice. "I'm going to check on the Dump first," I grunt, "Send them to the first clearing and tell them to spare with a partner while they wait for me." Aura's blue eyes search mine. "What are you going to do at the Dump?" "Nothing much," I try to meet her gaze evenly, "Just a check up." The silver she-cat looks like she wants to argue, but I mew. "I promise I won't lose control, okay?" ''"You're not a monster, Sari." Ice's words find their way back to me. I shake the thought away and focus on Aura's face. "Alright," she sighs, "Do as you please." I turn and walk slowly to the Dump, stopping the make some small talk with the guards in front of the Dump. They let me in and I brace myself for what I know will face me inside. "Ah, the atrocious monster returns." I snap my head around to glare at Kayli. I breathe in slowly, reminding myself of my promise to Aura. Ice's words repeat themselves over and over in my head, and I ignore her. I turn to Kreg. "I don't get what you found charming in this she-cat." He stares evenly back at me. Both cats looked ragged and worn out. Obviously the Dump was getting at them. My vicious words towards Kayli when I first sent her to the Dump surfaces again. I push it back down, determined to stay on good terms with Aura. "If you really think Kayli is some beast then you obviously don't know her very well. That makes me imagine how well you know your groupmates." I stare at him in shock. "Are you saying I've misjudged ''all my groupmates?" I challenge. "I'm saying you're making a terrible choice." "Sorry to break it to you," I curl my lip, "but ''I'm the one in charge here. Prisoners like you don't have a say in what I'' do." "You're exactly as Kayli has described you." I swivel my gaze to Hector, who's on guard. "Have you been letting them ''talk about me?" I snarl, "What kind of guard are you? Would you like to spend a few nights in the Dump to experience what disobedience tastes like?" She shakes her head desperately. I glare at her for amoment longer before returning my attention back to my prisoners. "I'll deal with you two later." "I'm surprised you haven't clawed me yet," Kayli snorts, "Usually you can't even hold back the moment I speak." I know she's bribing me. She wants me to lose control so she can show Hector what kind of monster I am. "Watch your tongue," I mew sharply as I walk away, "before I cut it off for you." Hector pales but I ignore her. I've heard that she used to be with toms, but joined up when she had no where to go (presumably the toms ditched her). She's acted like a tom quite a lot, but I'm not surprised that she's mortified by my sentence. "As for you," I stop in front of her, "Make sure you know how to maintain the prisoners." "Of course, Sari," she mews quickly, her eyes wider than usual. I stroll outside and head for the first clearing. Aura is still in the camp, talking to Amber and Patie. I hurry to the clearing and find Firefly, Frost, Dew, and Flare waiting for me. They are resting on the side, looking exhausted already. Some of them are still nursing wounds from the battle two weeks ago. "Alright, let's do some practice drills. Find a partner and do a standard sparring match. I'll watch and correct whatever you do wrong." Firefly and Frost pair up, as the white she-cat isn't much older than the young she-cat. Dew and Flare are more experienced, and I watch them first. Before I know it, the day flies past as we train and correct our flaws. By the end of the day, I know that if the Clan tried to raid now, these four cats would beat them back just fine. Soon, we'll be ready for you. ~ "We have evidence on you killed Sweetie," Aura tells me one day, "Amber says she spotted a cream colored she-cat attacking Sweetie that day." "A cream colored she-cat?" "Yeah, she had a distinctive white paw and flashing green eyes." Aura is grooming her fur. A shock runs through me. I sit up urgently. "Is Amber sure?" "Positive." I clamber out of my nest and smooth down my fur. "Perfect, I know who to target now." Rage is slowly making its way through my body. I will my flank to heal faster. I must get my revenge. Aura stares at me through narrowed eyes, "You know the Clan cat?" "Not personally," I snort, "I've seen her around a few times though, a stuck-up nobody who doesn't deserve to continue with her 'easygoing' life." The silver she-cat sighs, "I can't argue against you avenging Sweetie's death I suppose. But don't you think it'll be too risky to just murder some Clan cat?" "I don't care if the whole Clan comes after me for this," I mutter, "As long as I avenge Sweetie." And get Ice for myself once and for all. I pace feverishly. "I'll be back. I'm going scouting along the Clan border." Aura rolls her eyes, "Just be careful, Sari." I'm coming, Shineblossom, just you wait. I head out quickly, making sure that nobody could hear me. I creep towards the Clan border and locate a patrol swiftly. I keep going until I can hear what they're saying. "Did you hear? Lionstar wants to see if he can get rogue recruits." "Is he that desperate for warriors? I bet we can take on those rogues easily." "Yeah well he's desperate alright. Those rogues scare the living daylights out of him and he wants to be sure we can defeat them." "Of course we can! What kind of leader is he? Does he think we're all rats?" "I don't know, but I don't like the idea." I smile inwardly to myself. So this Lionstar wants recruits? This is my opportunity. As I back away, I begin to formulate my revenge plan. Just you wait, Shineblossom, I'll be on you in no time.